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Daily sickness allowance insurance

You are obliged by law to carry on paying your employees' wages when they're unable to work because of illness or pregnancy. If you take out Helsana Business Salary daily sickness allowance insurance, we can take these costs off you. It turns costs that you can't calculate into spending on insurance that you can.

Insurance obligations and options in the event of illness

What costs are incurred if you don't have daily sickness allowance insurance?

If employed persons become incapable of working, they are entitled to continued payment of wages under the Code of Obligations (Article 324 CO). Their employer is obliged by law to continue to pay them their wages for a limited period of time.

This typically involves additional costs for good measure –

in the form of work not done or extraordinary expenditure, for example.

Just what costs resulting from absence you will have to cope with will depend on your firm, the employees concerned, and the length of time they are absent. That's why they can hardly ever be calculated in advance.

You can avoid the risk of incalculable costs by taking out a voluntary daily sickness allowance insurance. It will also enable you to close any gaps in your staff's insurance cover, giving you the financial leeway to cushion the impact of longer-term absences on your business in the best way possible.

For how long must an employer keep on paying wages?

The duration of the continuing salary payments is determined by reference to the number of years in the job and varies from one region to another. The differences are highlighted by the following three scales, known as the Basle, Berne and Zurich scales:

These guidelines apply if:

The employment relationship lasted longer than 3 months

The employment relationsship was agreed for more than 3 months

These differences make it much more difficult for employers to calculate the financial risk. Insurers bundle the risks of a large number of businesses together, using the "law of large numbers" to enable the risk to be calculated more easily and more accurately. Helsana Business Salary daily sickness allowance insurance relieves companies of the statutory obligation to continue salary payments. The costs of absence are converted into regular premium payments, which makes it possible to calculate them.

For employees, the legal provision gives rise to an uncovered risk. The reason for this is that the legally prescribed period for the continuation of salary payments is too short to span the time left until any social insurance pensions (disability or retirement) become payable. Employers can use daily sickness allowance insurance to bridge this gap in their employees' cover.

Benefits from last salary in % (AHV salary)

Obligation to continue salary payments pursuant to OR (payable by the employer)

Less risk

Helsana Business Salary insurance takes over all wages costs at the end of a waiting period. That means you exchange financial risk for regular, calculable premium payments. If staff are absent for longer periods of time, we'll take over the agreed wages costs from the end of the waiting period right up until benefits from disability insurance, occupational pensions (BVG) and AHV become payable.

More human

We're more than just an insurer. We're the leading health insurer in Switzerland and your partner in looking after your employees' health. Rather than just processing cases, we try to establish personal contact and find the best solutions for individuals.

Prevention and health

If you want a successful business, you need healthy employees. If you want to improve health in your workplace, our specialists will be happy to help you with modular courses and learning materials on health management.

Recovery and compensation

If you're ill, you really don't want to have to worry about anything during your recovery. We'll support your business and your employees during this period of time by taking over the payment of wages until any pensions become payable.

Support and reintegration

Getting back to normal living – both at work and socially – following illness is a major challenge. Our Case Managers will try to get in contact with you and the sick employee at an early stage in order to work out together how to reintegrate them into the workplace quickly and successfully.

Socially responsible employers are attractive

The continued payment of wages as required by law is often not an equivalent alternative to daily sickness allowance insurance. Our insurance offers your employees complete financial security if they're ill for a considerable length of time. Quite apart from the benefits for your business, voluntary daily sickness benefit insurance lets your employees know how much you value them.

Which benefits are insured?

The Helsana Business Salary daily sickness allowance insurance will take over payment of the sick employee's wages after a waiting period that can be chosen according to your individual needs. Employers are obliged by Art. 324b of the Code of Obligations to carry on paying wages in full in this way. If they have recourse to an insurance solution, the amount they are obliged to pay is reduced to 80%, which may be wholly or partly borne by the insurer, depending on how the arrangement is set up.

Daily sickness allowance

The person who is ill receives a daily allowance from Helsana. Its amount is calculated on the basis of the insured salary, the degree of incapacity to work and the amount of benefit as agreed. You, the employer, have a free choice as regards the level of benefit. Once it reaches 80%, the law discharges you from any further obligations. If you opt for a lower amount, you remain obliged to top up the insured benefit to reach 80% of the salary.

Example: An employee on a CHF 100,000 salary becomes 50% incapable of work; 80% of his salary is the insured benefit. The daily allowance is CHF 109.60 (80% of 50% of CHF 100,000/365 days).

Benefits are payable for 365 to 730 days, beginning with the day on which the employee becomes incapable of working. However, the payment of the daily allowance does not start until the waiting period is over. Until then, the employer pays the salary in accordance with his own personnel regulations.

Benefits from last salary in % (AHV salary)

Obligation to continue salary payments pursuant to OR (payable by the employer)

Daily sickness allowance insurance from Helsana

Social insurance and coverage gaps

Maternity benefits

For the expectant mothers in your firm, you can also arrange additional benefits over and above what is provided by the maternity insurance required by law: 80% - 100% of the insured person's AHV salary for 14 weeks (VVG, if benefit is greater than 80% ) or 16 weeks (KVG and VVG).

For self-employed persons: Daily allowance following an accident

Are you working for yourself? If you don't have obligatory insurance under the Federal Law on Accident Insurance (UVG), you can insure yourself against the consequences of accidents. You can be covered for up to 100% of your earned income for 365 or 730 days after a waiting period of between 14 and 90 days.

When and how is the daily sickness allowance paid out?

Contact us as soon as an employee reports sick – you can do it online, too. We'll check the claim as soon as it's received. Once the agreed waiting period is over, the daily sickness allowance insurance pays out. Depending on what was agreed when the contract was concluded, the daily sickness allowance is paid out either to the employer or straight to the employees. The person who is ill can require the insurer to pay it out to them directly at any time.

A smart combination: daily sickness allowance insurance and BVG

Daily sickness allowance is the ideal complement to occupational pension insurance (BVG), as the former is generally taken out so as to pay benefits for 730 days. Disability benefits should be payable after 365 days at the most. However, it often turns out that their payment is delayed by enquiries and doesn't start until later. With benefits paid for 730 days, you're ideally covered and not at risk of any gaps in cover.